This talk we learned about articles 25 and 26. Article 25 lists some sacraments Episcopalians hold useful, naming two of them ‘great sacraments’- the sacraments of baptism and communion. What’s so great about them you ask? Well Jesus expressly said to do them. Jesus told his disciples to break bread and share wine “in memory of me”. After he comes back from the dead and visits the disciples He instructs them to go and baptize all nations. This short speech is found at the tail end of Matthew.
Article 26 is kind of an interesting one. It details the fact that communion is still a sacrament even if the priest serving it is evil or has done wrong. This means a person taking communion need never worry their priest has sinned and somehow invalidated their receipt of the body and blood. The priest should see to his own sins, but they are not passed to the bread and wine. Communion still counts for the churchgoer. I think this could be read as stating anyone can give communion. I wonder, what other things it is ok for anyone to do in the Episcopal church? Presumably a priest still has to apply the blessing or invocation that makes bread and wine into body and blood. Maybe? We learned in relation to these articles that the bread and wine becoming body and blood is a mystery. This is contrasted with the Catholic church which refers to the process as transubstantiation. This seems to me like splitting hairs, but hey, use whatever word you like best.
I visit churches—I write about it.